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Ernie Morrison
Biography Character: Ernie "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison Birthday: December 20, 1912 Place of Birth: New Orleans, Louisiana Date of Death: July 24, 1989 Place of Death: Los Angeles, California First Short: Our Gang Last Short: Cradle Robbers Number of Shorts: 28 History: Ernie Morrison was the first and oldest of the Our Gang stars, collectively known as "The Little Rascals." In 1919, he was the first black performer to be signed to a long-term contract in Hollywood. At six years old, he was the first child star signed to the series after appearing in the Baby Marie series and already a seasoned actor. Ernie's father had been the chef of a wealthy New Orleans family, but he was "stolen" away by oil magnate E. L. Doheny to his home in Beverly Hills, California. It was there that Ernie was discovered to replace another young but temperamental black star. He was nicknamed "Sunshine," but his father added "Sammy." He starred in fourteen shorts from 1917 to 1919 before getting hired by Hal Roach Studios to start the Our Gang series. His own father appeared in the series with him in roles ranging from his on-screen father to minor bit parts. After five years, he moved on to a full time career in Vaudeville, but he was away from Hollywood for sixteen years. He returned to starring in movies in 1940 for a bit part in "Fugitive From A Prison Camp" and then starred in the East Side Kids series for Monogram Pictures alongside Huntz Hall and Leo Gorcy between 1940 to 1943. If anything, he was the one of the few Rascals with a successful post-Rascals career, but he left to serve in the Army as a USO entertainer. He refused a role in The Bowery Boys series, and finally left show business altogether to work in the aerospace industry in Southern California. In the later years of his life, he did bit parts on TV for the TV Series "Good Times" and "The Jeffersons," starring in one episode with Matthew Beard, another Our Gang star. Ernie's sister, Dorothy, appeared in two Our Gang films with him, and one more short after he left the series. In the later years of his life, Ernie appeared to film buff groups in Los Angeles such as The Sons of the Desert, created to honor the Laurel And Hardy series and later, most of the Hal Roach series. In 1987, he was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame. Sadly, in 1989, Ernie Morrison died of cancer in his Los Angeles home. Former Rascal Peggy Cartwright and Hal Roach attended his funeral accompanied by an instrumental solo performed by Eugene Jackson, Sammy's replacement in the gang. List of Shorts *Our Gang *Fire Fighters *Young Sherlocks *One Terrible Day *A Quiet Street *Saturday Morning *The Big Show *The Cobbler *The Champeen! *Boys To Board *A Pleasant Journey *Giants Vs. Yanks *Back Stage *Dogs Of War! *Lodge Night *Stage Fright *July Days *Sunday Calm *No Noise *Derby Day *Fast Company *Tire Trouble *Big Business *The Buccaneers *Seein' Things *Commencement Day *It's A Bear *Cradle Robbers Other Projects * The Soul of a Child (1916) (uncredited) * Milady of the Beanstalk (1918) * Dolly Does Her Bit (1918) * Winning Grandma (1918) * Dolly's Vacation (1918) * The Sheriff (1918) * Peggy Does Her Darndest (1919) * The Little Diplomat (1919) * Baby Marie's Round-Up (1919) * Start Something (1919) * Call for Mr. Caveman (1919) * Giving the Bride Away (1919) * Tough Luck (1919) * The Floor Below (1919) - with Ernie Morrison Sr. * Red Hot Hottentotts (1920) * Why Go Home? (1920) * The Dippy Dentist (1920) * All Lit Up (1920) * Getting His Goat (1920) * Waltz Me Around (1920) * Raise the Rent (1920) * Haunted Spooks (1920) (uncredited) - with William Gillespie and Harold Lloyd * Cut the Cards (1920) * The Dinner Hour (1920) * Find the Girl (1920) * Cracked Wedding Bells (1920) * Trotting Through Turkey (1920) * Drink Hearty (1920) * Nearly a Maid (1920) * All Dressed Up (1920) - with Ernie Morrison Sr. * Any Old Port (1920) * Don't Rock the Boat (1920) * You're Pinched (1920) * The Home Stretch (1920) * Call a Taxi (1920) * Run 'Em Ragged (1920) * Money to Burn (1920) * Get Out and Get Under (1920) (uncredited) - with Harold Lloyd * Go as You Please (1920) * Rock-a-Bye Baby (1920) * Doing Time (1920) * Fellow Citizens (1920) * When the Wind Blows (1920) * Insulting the Sultan (1920) * Cash Customers (1920) * Park Your Car (1920) * Number, Please? (1920) (uncredited) - with Harold Lloyd * Whirl o' the West (1921) * Pinning It On (1921) * Make It Snappy (1921) * Rush Orders (1921) * No Children (1921) * Big Game (1921) * High Rollers (1921) * At the Ringside (1921) * The Chink (1921) * Sweet By and By (1921) * The Pickaninny (1921) * Try, Try Again (1922) * Loose Change (1921) * Rich Man, Poor Man (1922) * Penrod (1922) - with Peggy Cartwright and Jackie Condon * High Tide (1922) * Stand Pat (1922) * The Non-Skid Kid (1922) * Many Happy Returns (1922) * The Sleuth (1922) * Christmas (1923) * The Fraidy Cat (1924) (uncredited) - with Charley Chase, Joseph Cobb, Mickey Daniels, and Andrew Samuel * Rupert of Hee Haw (1924) (uncredited) - with Joseph Cobb, Jackie Condon, Mickey Daniels, Johnny M. Downs, James Finlayson, Mary Kornman, and Stan Laurel * Battling Orioles (1924) (uncredited) - with Joseph Cobb, Jackie Condon, and Mickey Daniels * Between Meals (1926) * Don't Butt In (1926) * Soft Pedal (1926) - with Ernie Morrison Sr. * Gang War (1940) (uncredited) * I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby (1940) * Boys of the City (1940) * That Gang of Mine (1940) * Fugitive from a Prison Camp (1940) * Pride of the Bowery (1940) * Flying Wild (1941) * Bowery Blitzkrieg (1941) * Spooks Run Wild (1941) * Mr. Wise Guy (1942) * In This Our Life (1942) (uncredited) * Let's Get Tough (1942) * Smart Alecks (1942) * 'Neath Brooklyn Bridge (1942) * Kid Dynamite (1943) * The Ape Man (1943) (uncredited) * Hit Parade of 1943 (1943) (uncredited) - with Cordell Hickman * Clancy Street Boys (1943) * Ghosts on the Loose (1943) * Follow the Leader (1943) * Greenwich Village (1944) (uncredited) * Good Times "The TV Commericial" (1974) * Jim, the World's Greatest (1976) ---- Category: Our Gang Regular Category: Male Rascals Category: Deceased Rascals Category: Over Twenty Shorts Category: Over Fifteen Shorts Category: Over Ten Shorts Category: Over Five Shorts